Los Cabos Authorities Cracking Down On Tourist Vendors On Popular Beaches

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Last Updated 12 months ago

Vendors are part of the beach vacation experience around the world. They walk along the beach selling visitors everything from hats and jewelry to cold drinks and even food.

Los Cabos authorities, however, have been cracking down on the activity due to a number of negative incidents that have affected the tourist experience in the beach resort destination.

Vendor Crack Down

Unfortunately, it’s a number of overzealous vendors that have caused problems for the entire group.

While most vendors hawk their goods while casually walking on the beach without annoying the guests, others are not as accommodating. Tourist reports of vendors getting aggressive and harassing Los Cabos visitors have grown in numbers recently.

This led to Los Cabos municipal police stepping up enforcement to require local vendors to be licensed to sell products on the beach and issuing tickets for noncompliance with the law.

This has driven the unlicensed vendors off the beach and onto the boardwalk to avoid police enforcement.

Now issues are compounding with the vendors causing issues for tourists on the boardwalk. For example, they have been actively obstructing the walking paths for tourists.

Again, police have stepped in with enforcement, leading to claims of harassment by the tourist vendors.

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Claims of Harassment

Handcraft vendors on the beaches of Los Cabos are claiming that they are persecuted by the police and harassed while trying simply to make a living.

The fines they are receiving for being unpermitted to sell on the beach start at 5,000 pesos, or about $275, and up to 30,000 pesos, or about $1,700, which can easily wipe out any hope of profits.

They not only claim that the police are harassing them in the crackdown, but also the tax inspectors, the naval authorities, and even police dogs have been part of the enforcement activities against them.

Vendors also say that the authorities have taken their products away from them as part of the enforcement actions.

Beach hawkers insist that they are just trying to make money selling products to Los Cabos tourists to earn a living and should not be subject to harassment by local police officials.

Enforcement For Tourist Protection

Local officials refute the claims of harassment by local police that are simply doing their jobs and enforcing the law. They claim it’s the vendors that are avoiding the law and not following the rules.

It is all about protecting tourists and ensuring they are not harassed during their vacation getaway to the beach resort destination.

Despite the difference in opinions between the two groups, local officials have asked the municipal and tourist police to instead focus on educating the vendors and working with them instead of simply harassing them for noncompliance with the law requiring vendors to have proper permits.

What Tourists Should Do

Unfortunately, tourists are stuck in the middle of this dispute between vendors and the police.

Tourists should avoid doing business with unlicensed vendors on the beach to discourage them from continuing the practice leading to the issues with the police in Los Cabos.

Instead, they should purchase their products from nearby restaurants and souvenir shops located on the boardwalk and off the beach.

Alternatively, they can visit a new handicraft vendor shopping area which will soon be created as a compromise between the Los Cabos municipal government, local police and the tourism vendors.

In the meantime, Los Cabos tourists should also continue to report issues with aggressive or harassing vendors to the local municipal or tourist police to protect other tourists.

This has been an issue in the past, and local police are actively educating tourists about the need to report this type of negative behavior.